In praise of the slow win

I have a theory. I don’t believe, as some do, that the typical small business owner is a fool. In my experience, the opposite is true and I think it’s insulting to suggest otherwise.

So, what gives? Why do we see intelligent people investing their time and money on improbable shortcuts?

Here’s how I see it

From the outside, a lot of business success seems to happen overnight. Seemingly out of nowhere, a brand, company, product or service is suddenly everywhere. Of course, we seldom see all the hard work, time, commitment, creativity, testing and measuring that went into making that overnight success happen. We don’t see the ‘failures’, rejections or risks either. We just see the success.

Having had the privilege of working with thousands of small business owners, many of whom have achieved commercial success at a life changing level, I can say I have never once seen one who got there using a trick or shortcut. I can, however, point you to countless examples of people who have focused their time trying to get rich quick, yet are still broke years later – sometimes broken too.

The slow win

In my experience, the slowest way to get from where you are, to where you want to be, is to keep looking for the shortcuts. Go for the slow win. It’s what the winners in business do.

Remember -- if you'd like some help with your business or a project, you can Pick My Brain for the answers and ideas you need. This service is [literally] guaranteed to help you. You can find out more here.